Head Canon Storage
by Darquess
Summary: Just a place for me to keep the head canon's I've been posting on the facebook page "Never really getting over anyone's death from Harry Potter." Don't mind me.
1. For Admin Dobby

Neville sat in the Room of Requirements, among other members of the newly reformed Dumbledore's Army. Everyone had just returned from Christmas holidays, and Neville was quite eager to see Luna again. He had picked her up a present, a book from Obscurus Books in Diagon Alley that was all about the many odd creatures she often talked about. He had been too nervous to send it to her by owl, but he planned to give it to her now. In person. He socialized with the many members of their resistant group as they came and went, offering greetings and words of encouragement, but his eyes never strayed from the entrance for too long, in case he missed her come in.

Neville was still waiting well into the early hours of the morning. He sat among the sleeping members of the DA trying to fight down his rising panic. She wasn't here. She wouldn't return to Hogwarts without checking in on the DA, he knew that. Why wasn't she here yet? Had something happened? He tried to think back to every scrap of news he had managed to get at home with his gran. He hadn't heard anything. Then again, he hadn't heard anything from Luna herself, not one single message. He grasped the book tightly in his hands, the present meant for her. Something had to be wrong. He picked his way through sleeping students, careful not to disturb any. He would get out a message, asking if anyone knew anything about Luna Lovegood's whereabouts.

Luna sat in the basement of Malfoy Manor. Mr. Ollivander had fallen asleep ages ago, but sleep seemed impossible to her now. This basement was dark and cold, a sharp contrast from the Room of Requirement. She should be there now, with the other DA members... with Neville. He must be quite worried about her, she was taken on the way home for the holidays so she never had the chance to send him one message. She hoped she wouldn't cause him too much worry, but she was worried for him as well. She hoped he had made it back to Hogwarts safely. She couldn't even get a copy of the Quibbler down here, let alone word on how her friends were doing. Friends... Luna allowed herself a small smile. It was nice to say that she had friends, to know someone out there would be worried about her, and to be worried about them herself.


	2. For Emory

Harry was wandering the seventh floor of Hogwarts. His original destination had been the Fat Lady's portrait and from there to Gryffindor Tower, but he still felt uncomfortable there after spending most of this past year away only to bring back a battle. Instead his feet took him down the left corridor, the familiar path to the Room of Requirement. When he got closer, he found the wall across from the tapestry was not bare, like it should normally be. The room's ornate door was plainly visible, meaning it was currently in use. He should have walked away, it was someone else's business, but his curiousity got the better of him and he pushed the door open.

Harry was used to seeing the Room of Requirements having a large interior, more than enough room for a few dozen students to practice defensive magic or to bunk down in. Seeing a small room like this was quite the change. '...Hang on,' Harry thought as he looked closer at his surroundings. He knew this room! He hadn't been in it in years but he once frequented this small bedroom.

"Harry?"

Harry turned at the sound of the voice, now noticing the blonde girl sitting in a chair. "Emory? Sorry, I didn't mean to come in."

"No, I don't mind," Emory stood.

"Your old room?" Harry asked, gesturing at their surroundings.

"Yeah, after everything that happened this year I needed something familiar."

The two stood in silence for a moment, and then Emory quickly leaned in and brushed her lips against Harry's.

Harry blinked. "What was that for?" He asked, colour rising in his cheeks.

"Well, for everything I guess," she said, giving him a smile before leaving the room.

Harry stayed in the room a little longer, taking in the familiar surroundings. He had so many memories in this room with Emory, and he could feel the ghost of her lips against his.


	3. For Heather

Heather found it hard to keep the smile off her face. The Azkaban breakout was weighing heavy on the entire school, and the Dementors weren't helping the atmosphere at all. Even Fred and George were hard pressed to keep things light at times.

"Here he comes," Fred called, gesturing for her and George to come closer. George gave the blue-eyed ginger a nudge forward, allowing her a better view of the show. Heather slid up next to Fred, a prime location to observe other students coming out of the Great Hall. Right now a group of Slytherins were coming out after breakfast. Right in the middle of the group walked Draco Malfoy. The three red-heads grinned, the perfect target had just appeared.

"Ready?" George asked, raising his wand. Fred and Heather raised theirs as well. All three pointed them towards the ceiling, where a large assortment of water balloons were levitating. A quick incantation and they were sent plummeting toward the green-robbed figures.

Laughter errupted in the Entrance Hall as Slytherins flinched at impacts that left them soaked. Heather allowed herself a small moment of celebration while Fred and George high-five'd each other, then the three took off running before they could get caught.


	4. For Elizabeth

Elizabeth sat in the Slytherin Common Room, flipping through the pages of a well-worn romance novel. It was one of her favorites, a story she knew backwards as well as forwards. She loved to get lost in this world love. Her eyes fluttered across the common room to the blond across the room. She sighed, twisting her red dyed hair. Why couldn't she have a storybook love? She went back to her book, eyes traveling over familiar words.

A short time later she realized someone had come over to her. She looked up from her book to see Draco Malfoy standing next to her. He looked... flustered. But that was impossible, right? This was Draco. He was never flustered or embarrassed or anything.

"Hey," She greeted, wondering if the heat she felt was a blush.

"Hi," Draco responded. He stood there awkwardly for a moment, then cleared his throat. "Would you...ahh... like to go... to the Yule Ball? With me?"

Elizabeth fought to keep her jaw closed. She had dared slip into a day dream or two where she walked into the Yule Ball on his arm. "O-Of course. I'd love to!" She responded, her book falling closed in her lap.

A small smile crept onto Draco's face. "I'll pick you up about 7?"

"Sounds like a date," she agreed, realizing she couldn't be happier.


	5. For Jaime

It was almost midnight, but the Yule Ball was still going strong. The music of the Weird Sisters was echoing through the halls of Hogwarts. Jamie had left the festivities a little early, choosing to wander a little before returning to the Slytherin dormitory. She paused beside the large mirror on the fourth floor, brown eyes gazing back at her from the reflection. Her dark green dress accented her body nicely, and her short brown hair had kept its shape throughout the night.

The last song was fading, she should get back to the Common Room. She started making her way toward the Grand Staircase, where she could take her usual path down to the dungeons.

Between the first floor and the second, she came across a familiar red-haired Weasley in maroon dress robes. Both of them stopped, each taking in the sight of the other in their formal wear.

"Jaime," Rob greeted, breaking the silence first.

"Hi Ron," Jaime replied, wondering what he thought of her in her dress.

"You.. you look good," he offered, walking a few more steps up.

Now Jaime knew she was blushing. "Thanks. You don't look so bad yourself." Earlier in the evening she wouldn't have said that with so much truth, but after a while the odd velvet dress robes had grown on her. "Are you going back to the dorms?"

"Yeah." Ron was almost even with her on the steps now. "You doing the same?"

"Yeah."

The two fell into silence again as Ron stopped on the same step she had, just staring at each other.

"Well, I guess - " Jaime started to say, but was cut off when Ron suddenly pressed his lips against hers. She was shocked at first, she had thought with the differences in their houses, Ron would never have given her a second glance, but before she realized it she was kissing him back.

They broke apart as the commotion of students leaving the Ball grew louder, soon there would be a lot of people crowding the stairs, and them. She could still feel the ghost of his lips on hers as she stared into his blue eyes, her heart beating faster than it ever had before. "What...?"

"Sorry, it's just... " Ron fumbled to find the word he was looking for. "You want to get out of here?" he asked, taking hold of her hands.

"Yes," Jaime agreed breathlessly, letting him lead her back up to the second floor landing and down the corridor.


	6. For Troo

Severus bid goodbye to Avery, promising to meet up with him in the Common Room before dinner. The smell of fresh air was too much of a temptation after being cooped up for the History of Magic O.W.L.s exam and he didn't want to return to the dungeons quite yet. A walk of the grounds sounded too pleasant to pass up.

His walk brought him to the edge of the lake. He preferred seeing it from the Slytherin dorms, and had even seen the giant squid pass by his window once, but it was nice seeing it above ground too. If only because he knew she would be there.

And there she was, dark red hair setting her apart from the landscape. She had a book in her lap and her wand was raised, lips moving silently as she read the pages in front of her. He assumed she was preparing for the Transfiguration O.W.L.s they would have the net day. She was so engrossed in her spells that she didn't notice him coming until he sat beside her.

"Afternoon," he offered as she startled at the sound of his voice.

"Hello Severus," she said, quickly going back to her book.

He held back a sigh. She had almost been avoiding him ever since the 'incident' with Potter. He felt horrid for what had happened and had apologized multiple times for it, but it wasn't enough. She had to get over it eventually, right?

It was nice by the lake, which was quite still on this afternoon. It reminded him of their trips to the river when they were nine, when he would tell her of the wonders of the Wizarding World as they both waited for the day their letters from Hogwarts would come. But she had been very talkative then, always asking questions. Today she was completely silent, which unsettled him.

She stayed quiet next to him, not offering any conversation for several minutes. Eventually Severus spoke up again. "Hey Lily, think you can help me with my Charm work before the O.W.L.s? My Growth Charm seems to be a little off."

Her green eyes finally met his black ones. He loved her eyes, they were beautiful and he could always tell what she was thinking just by glancing into her eyes. The ghost of a smile appeared on her face. "I suppose I could help you..." Then she seemed to remember she wasn't happy with him and buried her face in her book.

"Meet on Thursday then?" he asked, hoping he hadn't lost her.

She nodded from her place in her book, choosing to mumble incantations now as an excuse not to talk to him.

"See you then," Severus said, taking his leave. He knew when he wasn't wanted. He hoped that by Thursday he could find the right words to apologize for calling her a Mudblood. She had to know he felt horrible for that slip up, that it was killing him to see her so distant. He just wanted their friendship back.


	7. For Ashely

James walked off the Quidditch pitch with the rest of his team. It looked like Gryffindor might win the Quidditch cup this year, and his entire team was very excited. James was just glad to show those Slytherin's which team had the better Seeker.

The last of the students were filling out of the Quidditch stadium. Among them, James spotted a very familiar head of red hair. Promising his team mates he would catch up with them in a moment, he made his way towards the straggling students.

"Evans!" he called, waving towards his target.

"Hello Potter," she responded, breaking away from her small group of friends. She could say what she wanted but James like he had gotten a little better this past year compared to other years.

"So... Lily," her first name felt unfamiliar on his tongue. "There's a trip to Hogsmeade this weekend..." his voice trailed off. He was used to asking her out in a more taunting manner. How was he supposed to actually do this?

"Yes, there is," Lily seemed amused by his hesitation.

"Were you planning on going?" he asked, seeming to get sidetracked.

"Maybe," she seemed to enjoy teasing him like this. "Is there a reason you want to know?"

"No. I mean, yes. I mean..." James sighed. Why did girls have to be so weird? It was just awkward trying to talk to them normally. At least her friends hadn't clung to her like most girls tend to do. "I was just wondering if you'd like to stop by the Three Broomsticks with me. Pick up a Butterbeer... or something."

"James Potter, are you asking me out?" Lily asked, her eyes alight with laughter.

"And what if I am?" James asked in an almost taunting tone.

"Well I suppose I'm just going to have to accept then."

"Really?" James seemed shocked that she had actually accepted. He had been asking her to go out with him for years and she had never accepted before. He didn't think he would get this far... now he didn't know what to do next.

"Of course," Lily laughed a little. "Shall we say, 2 o'clock?"

"Uhh... yeah, two sounds great," James agreed, nodding like he had no idea what was going on anymore. "I"ll meet you out front?"

"I'll see you there," Lily agreed, the smile still on her face as she turned back towards the school.

James celebrated his victory briefly. He couldn't wait to tell the other Marauders he actually had a date with Lily Evans.


	8. For Anelle

Annelle sighed against the side of the carriage that was pulling her and several other students toward Hogsmeade, her breathe coming out as a large white puff in the cold air. This year had been a rough one thus far. That Umbridge woman was bad enough on her own, she didn't need her for a professor while she was already missing him...

She glanced around at the other students on the cart. This had been among the last to leave, so there weren't many. There was a Ravenclaw student with his head stuck in a book, and then her friends Fred and Hermione. The two had been deep in conversation, something about a 'regular meeting', which Annelle assumed to be the meeting at the Hog's Head Hermione had also invited her to. She still wasn't quite sure that she was going. She just wanted to survive this year long enough to leave this school behind her.

When Hermione saw her glancing her way she broke off her conversation with Fred to give her an encouraging smile. Anelle returned the smile and then her eyes drifted back to the passing landscape. Unknown to her, Hermione suddenly nudged Fred her way and muttered something to him. The next thing she knew, Fred had moved down a couple seats to be across from her, Hermione close behind.

"Hey, Nell," he started, pulling what looked like his wand from his pocket. "Wanna see this new spell I learned?"

Anelle looked between her two friends. With the way Hermione was staring at her, she was sure she had encouraged Fred to come and 'cheer her up'. "Sure," Anelle agreed reluctantly, playing along.

Fred grinned and gave the wand an exaggerated wave, saying some words that were quite obviously a fake incantation. A small pop filled the air, just loud enough that the Ravenclaw student gave them a brief glare from the top of his book. The wand was gone, replaced by a set of paper flowers. Anelle nearly laughed and Hermione applauded the trick. "For you," Fred said gravely, offering the flowers to Hermione with an odd half-bow. Hermione blushed a little, but accepted the offered flowers and even pretended to smell them.

"Trick wands," Fred explained as he pulled out another. "George and I are going to sneak some of these into Umbridge's office this afternoon. If we can nick her real wand it'll be even better!" Fred waved the new wand and a rubber duck appeared. "What do you think?" he asked as he offered the fake bird to her.

"I think they're great," Anelle said honestly almost laughing as she accepted the odd object.

Fred gave her a wink as the carriage slowed to a halt, "Gotta keep the spirits up around this place. It's a full time job! You never know whats around the corner." He hopped out of the carriage and offered a hand up to Hermione to help her down.

Anelle loved seeing her two friends together. Although many people assumed Fred preferred Angelina after the two had been seen at the Yule Ball together last year, Anelle thought they made a good couple. Almost as good as -

"Hey Nell," a new voice said, one that Anelle hadn't heard in quite a while. Her eyes quickly searched the area until they landed on a pair of brown ones on a head with brown hair belonging to a well built young man.

"Oliver!" Anelle jumped out of the carriage and rushed to the corner of the train station, right into Oliver Wood's waiting arms.

"Missed you too, Nell," Oliver said as he hugged her tight, one arm around her shoulders and the other already buried in her short dark curls. He had already finished his time at Hogwarts, and the time apart had been hard on the two of them.

"Like I said, you never know whats around the corner," Fred commented, putting an arm around Hermione's waist and pulling her a little closer.


	9. For Elyse

Four people were walking down the streets of London: a young man with messy black hair, holding the hand of a young lady with long red hair, and another girl walking close to her partner with short black hair. They were chatting amicably, having just walked out of a restaurant where they had eaten and watched a Quidditch match on a television (a new territory for the wizarding world).

"That ref should have given the beater a red card," Dean commented with a shake of his head. Everyone laughed, thinking back to the first Quidditch match Dean had seen and Harry had first played, when both hadn't known that players weren't removed from the game for foul play.

"It was nice seeing the two of you again," Ginny said as they came to the road where they would part. A part of her mind was preoccupied on something as she played with a new ring on her finger.

"Don't be strangers!" Elyse said, giving her friend a hug as Harry and Dean shook hands with each other.

The two pairs parted ways. Elyse continued to wave goodbye until she and Dean turned a corner, long after Harry and Ginny would still be able to see her.  
"They seemed happy," she commented, turning to face Dean easier.

"I should hope they are Lyso. They're about to be married," Dean said with a grin, walking a little closer.

The two walked in companionable silence until they reached Elyse's door. "Thank you for dinner, Dean," Elyse said, wondering what might come next.

"You're welcome. I hope you enjoyed it," Dean said, shifting on his feet.

"I did," Elyse said honestly. She wasn't quite sure how to continue the conversation after that though.

The two stood almost awkwardly on Elyse's front step, neither quite sure what the other was thinking.

"I guess...I should be getting inside then," Elyse said reluctantly.

"If you have to..." Dean's voice trailed off, as if he were unwilling to let her go but not sure how to stop her from going.

"Well... night then," Elyse said, turning to go.

"G'night," Dean responded, waiting for her to turn and go up the steps. She was almost to her door when he turned to go himself. He had barely taken two steps when he suddenly stopped and turned. "Lyso, wait!" He called, running straight up to her.


	10. For Admin LooneyLaly

Sarah exited Hogwarts quickly, making her way down to the lake. She was drenched, her clothes and brown hair clinging to her body. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time, that was what she kept reminding herself. James Potter had set off a rather large prank with some help from Sirius and Peter. A large amount of liquid had come crashing down in the Entrance Hall on a crowd of Slytherins, and Sarah had simply been passing through at the time. Whatever had fallen on the crowd at the time hadn't been water, it smelled too much for that. She sat on the grass and searched her pockets for a spare handkerchief that had been spared from the incident.

"Sarah?"

She turned and looked up at the voice, blue eyes meeting familiar grey ones. "Hey Sirius."

"I thought I saw you coming out," he sat down next to her, looking over her wet form. "We got you too, huh?"

"Yeah, you did," Sarah said, giving him a small smile. "I should have known better. Wherever there's Slytherins, you four are giving them a hard time."

Sirius gave a little laugh. "Yeah I guess that's true." He pulled out his wand. "Would you like a little help?"

"If you know a way to get this stuff out I'd be grateful."

"Know how to get it out? I made this stuff!" Sirius said with a wink. A wave of his wand and Sarah suddenly felt much drier and her nose was much clearer.  
"Thanks," she said, truly meaning it.

"Don't mention it." Sirius said, stowing his wand. "Did you see the way those Slyterin's ran?"

"I did," Sarah said with a giggle.

"They won't be able to wash that smell out for weeks!" Sirius said with a laugh.

Sarah was glad to see him laugh. Although many girls at Hogwarts liked him for his looks, Sarah had fallen in love with his laugh first. It was why she often forgave him for any pranks that she got caught in the pranks he pulled with James. She knew somewhere he would be laughing with his friends, and often he would come to make sure she hadn't gotten hurt and share his laugh with her.

"Hey," Sirius said suddenly. "Want to sneak out tonight? Take a trip to Hogsmeade?"

"I'd love to," Sarah said earnestly.

"Meet me in the common room about nine." Sirius said, giving her shoulder a playful push before running off to continue viewing the aftermath of his prank with the rest of his friends.


	11. For Sanjana

Sanjana put aside her wand and book for a moment, rubbing her eyes. She, Harry and Ginny had claimed a corner of the common room to study for their Charms exams. Ginny's was only her end of year exams, but Sanjana and Harry had to take their OWLs this year. It was a lot more nerve-wracking than she had expected, and Dumbledore being gone and replaced by that.. that hag certainly didn't make it any easier.

"Alright Sanjana?" Ginny asked, looking concerned.

"Just too many spells at once," Sanjana responded. Her head was swimming with incantations, even without the book in front of her she could see the ink scrawled on the page.

"Having Hermione around would be nice right now," Harry commented as he too closed his book for a second. Sanjana and Ginny nodded in agreement, Hermione would have been a great help but she was off taking an exam for one of her many extra classes. Sanjana was pretty sure the Ancient Runes exam was happening.

Over Harry's shoulder, Sanjana spotted Fred come down the steps from the boy's dormitory. He glanced around, looking as though he'd lost something. After a moment, he started coming over toward the small group. Sanjana felt her heart jump when it seemed like he locked eyes with her.

"Hey sis. Harry. Sanjana." He greeted the group as he got closer.

"Hi Fred," Harry said, twisting to get a look at Fred. Sanjana offered a similar greeting, quieter and accompanied by a small wave.

Ginny gave Sanjana a playful nudge, knowing all about her crush on him. "What's going on?" The red haired girl asked, watching Fred glance about the area.

"Has anyone seen a spare wand anywhere?" Fred looked a little worried at not having the item.

"Did you lose yours?" Harry asked with slight surprise.

"No, its not my actual wand," Fred said vaguely, avoiding a direct answer to the question.

"I haven't seen any laying around," Harry said, glancing at the two girls. They both shook their heads, they hadn't noticed any extra wands in their corner.

"We'll let you know if we find it," Ginny offered. She had some suspicions about the wand, but knew better than to question some of the things the twins got up to.

Sanjana picked up the charms book and wand again as Fred thanked his younger sister. She needed to practice her engorgement charm, one of her weaker spells. The tea cup in front of her had barely grown at all over the study session.

Fred was staring at her again. She tried not to let the stare bother her as she flipped through the pages. "Sanjana! Wait! Don't - "

Sanjana was already raising the wand as she shot Fred a questioning look. A pop suddenly filled the air. Sanjana glanced at the wand in her hand, but she was no longer holding a wand. Instead of a wand, there was a black mass that looked oddly like a rat with wings. Surprised, she let out a small shriek and dropped the item like a piece of hot coal.

" - use that," Fred finished. He leaned over and picked up the item. Now that Fred was holding it, Sanjana could see that it was a bat, just not a live one. It had to be made of rubber or some similar material. "I was hoping to find it before someone set it off..."

Some of the students around the small group of friends laughed a little. Sanjana felt her face turning red, a little embarrassed. That Fred had witnessed it made it ten times worse.

Fred was grinning at her. "You're kinda cute when you're scared," he said with a wink before turning away from the group.

Sanjana blushed harder as Fred went in search of his twin.

"See? He thinks you're cute!" Ginny said, a knowing grin on her face.

"Only when I'm scared," Sanjana corrected, retrieving her real wand before hiding her blush in her spell book. Still, he had called her cute. That thought did make her grin.


	12. For Chantille

Severus glanced across the classroom for the umpteenth time that hour. It was hard not to. Even through the fumes of his cauldron she looked amazing. It was the last Potions class before the NEWT exams, but his mind couldn't be farther from it.

Lily was staring down at the liquid in her cauldron, focused on getting the potion exactly right as she stirred. Her red hair was pulled back to keep it out of her way. He preferred her hair down, where it would frame her face and compliment her amazing eyes.

Severus forced his attention back to the cauldron in front of him. With his focus slipping he nearly ruined his potion. Again. A few counter clockwise stirs brought his potion back to the correct color. He should really focus, but he found it difficult.

He glanced back to Lily. This time he found her green eyes staring back at him. She gave him a quick smile, which he returned, before going back to her work. It was going to be even harder to think about Potions now.

His spirit fell a little when she turned to Potter to say something. He hated that she was falling for him. He would rather see her with anyone else. Well, almost anyone. Better Potter than Black he supposed.

At least he had something to look forward to. Lily had promised to meet him on the lake shore after the lesson. He could hardly wait. He had the afternoon planned almost perfectly. He was going to run to the kitchens quickly to get some food from the House Elves for a sort of picnic, just like they used to have before they came to Hogwarts. Of course, if things went as planned, then they may end up forgetting about the food altogether.


	13. For Maria

Maria dodged another pack of students proudly bearing the Inquisitorial Squad badges. They were everywhere! It was suffocating, really. The only place she could get away from them anymore was Gryffindor Tower, but it was already late April and with exams coming up she needed the library. She abandoned the main stairs at the third floor, opting for a less traveled passage down to the library in the hopes of avoiding more of Umbridge's pets.

Rounding a corner, she almost ran straight into two read heads holding a box.

"Maria," the taller of the two spoke. Maria's heart skipped a beat, as it often did whenever she saw Fred. He looked a surprised and concerned at her presence. "You may want to clear out of here."

"Yeah, you don't want to get caught in this," George said, a mischievous look in his eyes.

"What are you two up to? Something for Umbridge?" Maria couldn't tell what was in the box, but if the twins were giving her a warning it had to be bad.

"Oh nothing too terrible." Fred started to say.

"Just a little prank." George picked up.

"A big one really."

"Going to cover the entire hall."

"No one'll be able to get through."

"It'll be brilliant."

Maria giggled at their way of tacking on to each other's sentences. "Why can't you just tell me?"

"The less you know the better," Fred said with a wink.

"This is going to drive Umbridge mad," George said, giving the box a loving tap.

"Alright, I'll leave you to it." Maria started to continue on, still determined to get in a little study time this afternoon.

"Maria! Wait!" Fred called after she had gone a few steps. She turned around, Fred was already walking toward her. "Listen... about this prank..."

"I won't be anywhere near it if you're worried," Maria promised as her blue eyes met his brown ones.

Fred shook his head, "No its not that. It's..." He let out a little sigh. "This prank may well be our last at Hogwarts."

"You're not going to get expelled, are you?" Maria asked, wide-eyed.

"No, no. George and I are going to leave entirely on our own," Fred reassured her. "We're done with school if its come to this rubbish Umbridge is forcing on us."

"I see," Maria felt her heart plummet a little, but she didn't let it show. Instead she gave Fred a big smile. "Make this one count then!"

"Always!" Fred said with a small laugh. He leaned down suddenly and gave Maria a kiss, which seemed to amuse his twin as George let out a wolf whistle that lasted as long as the kiss. Fred broke off first, giving her a smile. "Wish us luck," He said as he tucked a bit of her brown hair behind her ear. He turned and ran back to George, giving him a cuff on the head when he was close enough.

"Good luck," Maria offered in a quiet voice, raising a hand to her lips as if she could preserve the kiss. She stared after him until the two twins rounded a corner and were lost from her sight. Even then she lingered a moment longer before following their advice to leave the area.


	14. For Samwise

The Doctor walked through the hills of Devon. The TARDIS had deposited him near a small village, which he had avoided in favor of the almost bleak landscape. The plainness of the surrounding rocks and hills almost matched his mood. He felt horrid after leaving Donna behind like he had. It hadn't felt right, but he'd had no other choice...

The landscape slowly became greener as he continued onward, starting as just grass and moss but soon included the occasional tree. It wasn't long before he found the source of the foliage: a small pond, hidden away from the rest of the world. An oasis from the outside. He wasn't sure why, but he felt drawn to it, as if he could sit on its edge and let all of his problems flow out of him.

When he arrived, he was shocked to find another person already there. The night was half over already, why would someone be out this late? And it wasn't exactly warm out either, although the cold never bothered him as much as it did the typical person. Yet there she was, dirty blonde hair cascading down her back, standing in the middle of the water, eyes on the small ripples that were echoing out from her pale legs. A pair of shoes were safely set aside on the shore, leading him to think she was barefoot out there.

"You'll catch your death of cold doing that," He spoke up. He hadn't meant to say anything, he could have just continued on his way and left her alone, but just speaking those few words aloud made his loneliness a little less heavy.

She looked up, silvery eyes a world away. "Yes, I suppose there's a chance of that," she said, her voice sounding like she was caught in halfway out of a dream. "I couldn't pass up this opportunity though."

"Opportunity?" The Doctor's eyes quickly scanned around her, looking for a reason for her to be out here. There was nothing out of the ordinary about the area that he could see. "Opportunity for what?"

"Why, to find Moon Frogs of course." Despite the dreaminess of her voice, she sounded like she was surprised he would think she was out here doing anything else.

"...Moon Frogs," The Doctor said with surprise, not sure if he should be amazed or laugh. Still, he was interested in what thoughts she had on the creatures.

"Yes. This is the perfect time to find them, when a full moon reflects on a still pond like this. The moonlight attracts them, you see, so they'll gather in ponds where the reflection is the strongest." She was firm in her facts, as if this was common knowledge everyone should have.

"Well I suppose that makes sense," The Doctor offered, finding no immediate flaws in her reasoning. "Although it seems to me, if you want to find Moon Frogs then the logical place to look must be the moon..."

"That's true," Luna agreed, her eyes roaming back to the reflection of the moon. "That is where they came from. The first people to come back from the moon brought a pack of Moon Frogs home, but they escaped their cages. By now they've mixed in with other frogs, so I don't think I would ever find a pure Moon Frog. If I could, I would love to go to the moon and find one myself, but it's such a difficult trip for one person to make."

"Well I wouldn't say difficult," he said vaguely, his eyes going straight to the moon itself. "I've been there a few times myself. Not that hard for me to get to at all. I've never seen any Moon Frogs though." He wasn't quite sure why he said that, but the next words out of his mouth were a shock even to him. "If you'd like, I could take you there and we could find some Moon Frogs together."

Why had he been so quick to offer that? He still wasn't sure he was ready to have someone alongside him in the TARDIS again after Donna. Maybe he wouldn't ever want a new companion. And yet.. there was something about this girl. He had never met another like her, so willing to believe in things others would dismiss as fantasy. It was almost a relief to talk to her, like she had rekindled something inside of him.

Her eyes roamed his features, as if trying to decide if he was just as sane as she was. She must have decided he was perfectly sane because she asked, "Could you really take me?" She was interested enough to take a few steps towards the edge of the pond, although her movements were gentle enough not to disturb the moon's reflection too harshly.

"I could," he held out a hand to her as she reached the water's end, an offer for so much more than just help out of the pond. "I'm the Doctor, by the way."

"My name's Luna. Luna Lovegood," Luna said, not even hesitating as she accepted the offered hand.


	15. For Milenka

Four students sat in a corner of the Hogwarts library. Two Slytherins, a Ravenclaw and a Hufflepuff were tucked away among the comfy chairs. An odd combination to anyone who didn't know the four of them, but they enjoyed each other's company just fine. The entire school was buzzing with talk of the Triwizard Tournament as Halloween drew closer, and this small group was no exception.

"Who do you think the Hogwarts champion will be?" Milenka asked her three friends as she flipped through a book in a half-hearted attempted to do her Potions assignment.

"Who's put their name in?" Weiss asked from across their little nook.

Milenka shrugged. "A bunch of people. Almost all the upper classmen I think."

"I heard Warrington put his name in," Draco said from his spot next to Melinka. "I think he's got a good chance, he knows his stuff."

"You just say that cause you can find his great-great-aunt in your family tree," Milenka said teasingly. "Why couldn't it be someone else? I heard Cederic put his name in. Why not him?"

"Diggory?" Draco laughed. "He wouldn't make it past the first round. Even a Drumstrang first year could beat him easily."

"Dad says the Goblet is just a formality," Luna's quiet voice drifted over the pages of her copy of The Quibbler. "Dad thinks they've already chosen the champions from each school, putting in the names is just a way to hype it up."

"Then whats the point of the age line?" Milenka pointed out.

Luna merely shrugged, "That's just what I've heard." She went back to reading her magazine, tilting it slightly as if the angle would change the very words she was reading.

"I heard someone here tried to slip past the age line," Draco said, looking straight over at Weiss, who stiffened a little in her chair.

"Really?" Milenka abandoned her homework in favor of this piece of information.

"I'm nearly perfect, it's a crime they do not allow me to participate," Weiss said dismissively, drawing laughter from her companions.

The sound of many students walking the halls and stairs echoed into the library, and delightful smells wafted up from downstairs. "I think its nearly time for supper," Luna said, closing her Quibbler and letting it sit in her lap.

"Let's go then," Draco said as he stood. "We might be able to catch other people putting their names in the Goblet."

"I'll go," Milenka offered, shutting the potions book and letting it float back to its proper shelf. She looked to Luna and Weiss. "Coming?"

"We'll be down in a moment," Luna said evasively, looking between her and Draco. Weiss just nodded in agreement to her statement.

"Guess its just the two of us," Milenka said, giving Draco a small smile.

"Well lets get going. Maybe this school will serve us something decent tonight," Draco turned and started to leave, but he kept his pace slow. He wouldn't admit it, but he was waiting for Milenka.

"Coming!" Milenka quickly caught up to the other blonde, easily matching his pace. Just before they left their friends' sights, Luna and Weiss caught Draco taking hold of Milenka's hand.


	16. For Micheal

He was on his way back from the Owlery when he saw them, although if the tree branches hadn't been bare he might have never found them. Laces linked together, the pair of shoes was weighing down a branch about halfway up the birch tree. Micheal couldn't help but smile. He didn't have to ask to know who those shoes belong to.

Silently thanking Professor Flitwick for all those Charm lessons, he carefully levitated the shoes down. Once in his hands, he looked them over for any damage. Thankfully, the worst of it seemed to be a little faded color. The leaves and branches must have protected the shoes from the worst of the weathe.

He gripped the laces tightly and ran straight back to the castle. He covered the distance to the main door quickly, then headed for the maze of moving staircases. They seemed to be on his side as he headed toward the fifth floor. It seemed like almost no time had passed before he hit the western landing. He navigated the hallways with practiced ease before finally coming to the familiar spiral staircase.

He paused at the top, awaiting the entrance riddle from the eagle knocker. He didn't have to wait long before bronze decoration spoke, "If today is Monday, what is the day after the day before the day before tomorrow?"

Micheal took a brief moment to repeat the riddle in his head before offering an answer, "Monday."

The eagle knocker stayed silent, and then the door cracked open. He pushed his way into the Ravenclaw Common Room. His eyes roamed over the many other students already there, most of whom had their faces buried in text books.

He spotted her, sitting in her usual window seat. She was engrossed in the latest copy of the Quibbler, her wand tucked behind her left ear as her silvery eyes roamed the upside down pages.

"Luna!" He spoke as he walked up to her, so as not to startle her. She looked up over the edge the Quibbler at him. "Are these yours?" He asked, holding up the shoes.

"Yes, they are," Luna set aside her Quibbler to take the shoes from him. "Was it Nargles again? I do hope they didn't give you any trouble."

"Uhh, I don't know if it was Nargles. They were just sort of there," He admitted with a shrug. "I'm just glad I could return them to you."

Luna gave him a smile. "My feet were getting a bit cold. Thank you, Micheal."

"You're welcome," Micheal said, returning the smile. Luna picked her Quibbler back up, but before she could get lost in the pages again he spoke once more, "Err, Luna?"

She looked back up at him. "Yes?"

"I...was just wondering..." Micheal seemed hesitant, unsure of how to say what he wanted. "If you would... and if you don't want to that's okay... but I was thinking maybe... if you'd like..we could... you know... go to the Yule Ball? Together?" He felt heat rising to his face, a telltale sign that he was probably blushing. He wasn't even sure if Luna already had a date to the Yule Ball.

Luna patiently waited for Micheal to finish, his shyness seeming to make her smile. "I would love to go to the Yule Ball with you," she said before standing up. "Thank you again for finding my shoes." She stood up on her toes to give him a quick peck on the cheek before heading up to the girls dormitory.


	17. For Anna

James sat on a windowsill of a nearly deserted corridor, a piece of paper spread out across his legs. He was holding a green apple in one hand, but the fruit seemed to be forgotten while his eyes were focused on the ink and parchment before him. He hardly reacted to people walking by him, ignoring even a few greetings, as the paper held his attention. While most other students were content to leave him be, at least two would do no such thing.

"James? James? Jaaaaaames?" Sirius resorted to waving a hand in front of his friend's face to break his concentration.

James flinched away from the offending hand, not an easy thing to do with a stone wall at his back. "What?"

"Well you were staring at the map so hard I thought you were gonna kiss it," Sirius said, drawing a laugh from Remus as he sat on the other end of the window.

"Well the map is a lot prettier than your ugly mug," James joked, aiming a half-hearted kick at his friend's shin.

"Were you spying on Lily Evans? Again?" Remus asked, leaning over to try to see the map.

"No!" James protested a little too quickly. He went to open another fold of the map to hide what he had been viewing, but Sirius was faster. His friend yanked the parchment away, eyes quickly finding what James had been so interested.

"So, Lily's in the library," Sirius gave his friend a lopsided grin. "Think she might give you a little study session?"

"Cut it out," James snatched the map back, folding it shut with a decisive snap.

"Oh no Remus!" Sirius stood and latched onto Remus' shoulder as he played the part of an over-dramatic actor. "The worst has happened! Our own James Potter has been... tamed!"

Remus laughed a little at Sirius' shocking declaration before giving James a look. "You should say something to her. Try asking her out again."  
James snorted. "Yeah, like she'd agree to go out with me. Arrogant toerag, remember?"

Remus was about to make some response when Sirius cut him off. "He admitted it!" He exclaimed jokingly. "He admitted he likes her! James likes Lily!" He started to raise his voice, taunting him as friends will. "Potter loves Evans!"

"You want to say that a little louder Sirius? I don't think they heard you in the Astronomy Tower!" James reached over to cuff Sirius but his friend danced out of reach, still declaring James' love interest at the top of his lungs. James wasn't about to let his friend just get away with that, so he set off after him. A laughing Remus was left behind as the two set off on a chase across the corridors of Hogwarts.

James hardly paid attention to which way he was going, focused only on catching the black hair messier than his own. He was so focused on his target he didn't even realize another person was coming until he has slammed into them, landing on the floor along with several books and papers.

James pushed himself upwards, ready to make a snappy statement to whomever had gotten in his path, when he saw her with her bright red hair also on the floor.

"Evans," He barely managed to say her name he was so embarrassed. "I'm.. I'm sorry," he helped her up, eyes scanning the corridor ahead of Sirius. He spotted his friend in an open door, catching a thumbs up before the oak door shut him off.

"Of course you are, Potter," Lily said, moving to gather up her dropped school papers. She didn't seem to believe he was sincere.

James quickly helped gather up her papers, feeling awkward as he placed them on top of her books. "Listen, Evans..." he trailed off.

"Yes, Potter?" She asked, straightening her papers out.

"Uhh... well," he cursed Sirius for putting him into this situation, he could almost hear his friend laughing safely behind the door. "It's just..." Why was it so hard to talk to girls. "It's... It's nearly dinner time. Do you... wanna go down to the Great Hall?" He was so sure his face was red without even looking.

Lily looked him over, as if trying to decide if this was another prank or not. "Well I was about to go there anyway..."

"Really?" James searched her eyes to see if she was serious. Although her green eyes sparkled with silent laughter, he could see nothing to make him think she was joking.

Lily nodded, and started walking toward the head of the corridor. James stood still for a moment, seemingly in shock that Lily had actually agreed to be in his presence. She turned back when she realized he wasn't right behind her. "Are you coming or not?"

"Ah, right, coming!" James hurried to catch back up to her.

* * *

He let Lily pick their spot at the Gryffindor table. She picked an empty area, close to the middle of the room yet still in the back half. James noticed a few people give them glances as Lily helped herself to the steaming meal already available on the table, but he paid them no mind. Lily seemed to have no trouble eating, but James barely ate his food. Sitting next to her was such an odd feeling for him, he found he didn't have much of an appetite now.

"So..." James tried to start a conversation, but he could hardly think of what to say. His eyes lighted on the books and papers she had set between them. "Is that the Defense assignment?"

"On dragons? Yes," Lily answered, her eyes on him rather than her papers.

James was relived that there was something they could both talk about. "Which species did you choose?"

"The Hebridean Black. I was just reading up on how their eggs are the same color as their eyes."

"Ah. I was going to go with the Peruvian Vipertooth," He hadn't actually picked a species yet, he just named off the first one that came to mind. "I've heard they're venom is so powerful they don't need flames."

"They do have a very powerful venom," Lily agreed. "Although I doubt they never need their flames."

James opened his mouth to reply when a group of three students entering the hall caught his eye. The look on Sirius' face was enough to make James groan and hide his face in his hand. Lily immediately looked to see what had caused such a reaction and saw Remus, Sirius and Peter at the doorway.

"Would you rather sit with your friends?" She asked politely.

"No," James said quickly. "It's fine, I can sit here." He was so glad when Remus pulled Sirius into a seat closer to the door than him. He made a mental note to thank him as Peter took a seat on the other side of the table from the two.

Lily shrugged. "If that's what you want."

The two lapsed into a companionable silence for a bit, Lily eating and James picking at his food while trying to ignore his friends.

A group of Slytherin's coming in did get Lily's attention. She stopped eating to watch the group of six or so students. James saw her meet Snape's eyes. The greasy haired git had quite the look on his face when he realized who she was sitting with. It was a mixture between shock, jealousy and anger. Lily had a much different look. She looked a little upset and uncomfortable under Snape's gaze. For the first time in a couple years James had a very strong urge to hex the Slytherin, but he could just feel Dumbledore's eyes on his back and decided against the action

"I need to go," Lily said suddenly, wiping her face quickly on a napkin and regathering her books.

"Go?" James seemed confused by the simple statement.

Lily nodded, "Back to the Common Room. I.. I need to finish my assignment."

"I'll walk you back," James immediately offered as he stood.

"You don't have to," Lily said, trying to avoid looking at anyone in particular.

"I'm coming," James insisted.

She didn't seem interested in arguing, letting him walk her out of the hall.

James was glad Lily was trying to avoid looking at anyone. She entirely missed the gestures Sirius was giving James as they walked by. He found himself owing another thanks when Remus slapped Sirius on the back of the head to get him to stop.

The trip up the stairs was quiet. He found himself wanting to cheer her up, but he wasn't quite sure how to do that. Anything he had tried to do to impress her in the past had failed. Miserably. He just didn't know how to talk to her.

"Lily?" He finally spoke, her first name sounding odd coming from him. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she said, a bit too quickly for him.

"Did Sni- ...Snape do something to you?" He asked, using another unfamiliar name.

"You know what he did!" She was trying to sound snappy, but she was too upset to mean it.

Did he know? He tried to think as she gave the password to let them into Gryffindor Tower. The last time he had actually seen her speak to him was...oh. The day he had called her a Mudblood. The memory made him want to march back downstairs and go after Snape - whether Dumbledore would approve or not - but any anger he had melted away at the sight of Lily upset.

"Hey," he stopped her before she could go up to the girl's side of the dorms. She paused and looked back at him. He wasn't quite sure what to say now that he had her attention, so he said the only thing that came to his mind. "...Don't let anyone get to you. You're a brilliant witch." He felt it odd to leave it just at that, and even she looked a little confused. Before he realized he was doing it, he leaned in and stole a kiss from her. A small one, he had barely realized his lips were on hers before he was pulling back. "Good luck with your assignment," he said weakly before heading up to the boy's side of the dorm.

Sirius Black could tease him all he wanted while they snuck down to the kitchens tonight, but he had gotten a kiss from the now stunned Lily Evans.


	18. For Renée

The sounds of celebration rang loud and clear in Gryffindor Tower. Those who were present would say they could hardly hear themselves think at the time. The noise was so loud it could probably be heard all the way down to the dungeons. Perhaps that was what they wanted, for their party to keep even the Slytherins wide awake in their beds until all hours of the morning. After all, it wasn't often that Gryffindor had the pleasure of winning the Quidditch Cup over Slytherin.

James' feet had hardly touched the ground since the game ended. It seemed like he and his team mates were always up on someone's shoulders. Remus and Sirius had the privilege of carting their friend around the common room for most of the evening, although how they managed to do that while drinking Butterbeer was beyond James. He himself had downed one or two Fireball Whiskeys that someone had nicked from somewhere. Or maybe it had been more than two. Either way he was glad he didn't have to walk himself, he wasn't sure if he would be steady on his feet at that point.

The cup was passed to James, who hoisted in the air to the rambunctious cheers of his house mates. He felt like he was on top of the world. Well, almost. The feeling started to fade when he saw a familiar head of red hair disappearing through the portrait. He passed the cup off to the team's Seeker and through the next round of cheering and shouting he asked Remus and Sirius to bring him in that direction.

He hopped off his friend's shoulders, waving them off as he swayed slightly on his feet. They looked concerned for him, but the call of the party was too much and they quickly jumped back into it. James carefully made his way out of the Common Room, right hand on the wall to keep himself steady.

He spotted her immediately. She hadn't wandered far, it seemed like she just needed a breather from the party. "Lily! Lily Evans!" He wasn't sure why but he could feel a stupid grin on his face as he called her name.

she turned around to face him. "James?" Concern sparked in her green eyes. "Whats wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you!" He gestured back at the portrait. "Everyone is in there having fun! Everyone but you!" He took a stumbling step towards her, not at all concerned that his words were slurring slightly.

"James Potter, are you drunk?" Lily asked, stepping forward in case he were to fall. "Some Head Boy you are."

"I'm not drunk," James stated firmly, just before his knees almost gave out. If Lily hadn't been there ready he might have crashed to the floor. "...Well not THAT drunk."

"Of course you're not," Lily rolled her eyes. "Let's get you back in the tower." She pulled him up, letting him lean on her as he found his skewed balance.

"I'm fine!" James insisted as she steered him back toward the portrait.

"No, you're not."

"I'll be alright... so long as you're around."

Lily stopped mid-step. "What?" she looked over at James. He hardly seemed to know what he was saying, and probably wouldn't remember the conversation come morning.

"You're a good person. I'll be fine if you're here," James said, that stupid grin on his face.

"...You don't know what you're saying," Lily said after a moment of hesitation. She tried to start walking again, but James stubbornly held her back.

"No, really," he still looked out of it, but he also had a serious face on. "I just... I know I'll be okay if you're there."

Lily seemed stunned by the statement, but quickly shook it off. "Come on, let's get you to bed."


	19. For Ifrah

With Halloween fast approaching there was a festive air throughout Hogwarts. Except on the Quidditch pitch. Harry, Ginny and Dean wanted to get in one more quick practice the day before the match against Slytherin. Ron was still seemed determined to quit the team no matter what anyone said to him, and Demelza, Peakes and Coote were still in a sour mood from the previous day's practice. The stands were empty except for two figures. Hermione and Ifrah had come out to show some support for their house team, although they may well have been the only ones with the mutterings about Harry's team management.

The sun was starting to set by the time the three players landed. Dean and Ginny handed the Quaffle off to Harry before bolting for the castle. Harry didn't seem too troubled by that, willingly stowing the red ball along with his golden snitch. Hermione and Ifrah patiently waited for Harry to exit the locker room.

"What do you think Harry?" Hermione asked as he joined them. "Will you guys be able to pull off a win tomorrow?"

"If Ron can pull it together I think we can do it." Harry said with a shrug.

"You just want to show up Malfoy on the pitch," Ifrah said teasingly, letting Harry pull her into a hug.

"Maybe," Harry said with a small smile before planting a playful kiss on her nose.

"Come on Harry," Hermione said over Ifrah's giggle. "Let's find Ron and get you guys a good meal."

"Yeah, maybe Ron won't want to quit after dinner." Ifrah said supportivly. "If not, you could always bring on McLaggen." She shot a glance at Hermione.

Her friend paled a bit at the idea. "Ron will be fine tomorrow," she insisted. "Come on, let's get to the castle. It's chilly out." She turned and walked off, letting her friends bring up the rear.

"She's right, Ron will be fine," Ifrah told Harry as the two followed. "You made the right choice for Keeper."

"I know," Harry said with a sigh. "I just wish Ron knew that too."


	20. Another For Sanjana

Sanjana and Ginny waited off to the side as Harry advised a group of Ravenclaws on how to reach their dorm without running into trouble. There were only a few students still left in the Room of Requirement after tonight's DA meeting aside from the Ravenclaws, mostly Gryffindors that would make the trip to the tower alongside Harry and his map.

"One more go at the Impediment Jinx," Ginny said suddenly, facing her friend. "Come on, you can do this!"

"Alright," Sanjana said, hesitantly drawing her wand. She had yet to use the hex to its full effect, while Ginny had moved on to the Reductor curse tonight. Even though the spell would cause her friend no harm, she still felt odd trying to use it on another person who was no threat. She pointed the wand at her friend, "Impedimenta."

Ginny's movements seemed to slow for a moment, barely a few seconds, before she was moving at normal speed again. She gave her friend an apologetic smile, as if to say 'not quite'.

"You've almost got it," Harry said. At some point he had come to stand behind Sanjana. "You've got to really mean it. It's hard, but you can do it."

"Right," Sanjana put her wand back in her pocket, feeling slightly embarrassed that Harry had witnessed another of her failures. At least she was a little farther than some of the other students.

"Come on, let's go back to the Common Room," Ginny said, immediately going over to join the rest of the Gryffindors waiting to leave, sliding right into Ron and Hermione's conversation.

"Actually..." Sanjana had a thought, "Is there a clear path to the Kitchens, Harry?"

His bright green eyes roamed the parchment in his hands. "Looks like it. I don't see anyone hanging around there." His eyes looked back up at her. "Why?"

"I'll meet you guys back in the Common Room," Sanjana promised with a smile, heading out the door on her own. She caught looks of concern on many faces, in particular Harry and Ginny, but she wanted to get something to end the night on a high note.

As Harry promised, the way down to the Kitchens was clear. Still, Sanjana was taking rarely traveled corridors and stairs. Better to not tempt fate. Finally reaching the kitches was a welcome relief as House Elves tried to offer her anything and everything they could.

Some time later Sanjana left the kitchens, basket in hand as she continued to insist that the House Elves had done enough for her. She was a little worried about making the long trip to Gryffindor Tower alone, and had almost taken one elf's offer to escort her back, but if she needed to she was sure she could put Harry's lessons to good use. She just wished she had thought to ask Harry to come with her, his map would be nice to have right now.

On the second floor she ran into trouble. Almost literally. She turned a corner and nearly walked right into Draco Malfoy, who was coming up the hall. He was accompanied by a few Slytherins. Sanjana was able to recognize Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy Parkinson of the group of seven before she realized she was in a tight spot.

"Out of bed after hours, Gryffindor?" Malfoy asked with a sneer.

"Could say the same for you," Sanjana retorted as she tried to back off. A couple of Slytherins moved around her quickly to cut her off.

"I'm sure Professor Umbridge is more interested in what you're doing than us," Malfoy's comment drew snickers from a few of his friends. "Tell you what, hand over the basket and if what you have is any good we might be able to forget we ever saw you."

Sanjana hesitated. She had really wanted to bring this food back to her friends, and Malfoy might report her even if she handed it over. But was it really worth keeping when she was outnumbered like this?

"We're waiting," Malfoy drawled. As if on cue the group of Slytherins pressed in closer until Sanjana's back was against the stone wall. On instinct, her hand went to her wand. She wished she had mastered the Impediment Jinx tonight, it might have been enough to get her away.

From somewhere past the Slytherins, Sanjana heard a voice ask "Ready?", shortly followed by another voice agreeing. She couldn't keep the grin off her face. She knew those voices quite well. She waited until she saw a small object before raising her wand to cast the Shield Charm. When the word "Protego," came out of her, at least half of the Slytherins turned to see what was going on, which made it all the better.

A green liquid with a vile smell splattered all over the group. Sanjana instinctively turned away from it even as it hit her shield. She silently thanked Harry for the lessons and looked back to the Slytherins.

Most had a look of disgust on their face, although some of their faces could hardly be seen for the green slime covering them. Pansy was shrieking something about her hair while others were asking what it was and making other comments of disapproval. The stench seemed to only be growing as the substance seeped into their robes. It didn't take long for the first of the Slytherins to break away, Pansy among them as she cried about her hair. Malfoy was the last of the group to leave, giving Sanjana a disgusted look before hightailing it after his friends.

Sanjana let her shield charm drop as two red-heads came up the hall, each unable to contain their laughter.

"Alright Sanjana?" Fred asked as he and George stopped just outside the ring of green liquid.

"Fine," she said as the twins removed the offensive liquid with a wave of their wands. "What was that?"

"Just a little something we've been working on," George said with a smirk.

Fred leaned over and took the basket from Sanjana. The sudden closeness of her crush made the girl blush furiously. "Come on, lets get you back up to the Tower. Lot safer there," he offered as he slung the container over his shoulder.


	21. For Laura

Laura came to a whirling halt on the dance floor, out of breath and laughter in her brown eyes. She almost hadn't come to the Yule Ball tonight, since nobody had asked her as a date, but she was glad she had. It was still fun to come with her small group of friends. It was well worth it to spin around the dance floor with the girls. The only reason her purple hair was still in a perfect shape was because of the charms Hermione had shown her to keep it in place.  
The group tried to pull her back out when the Weird Sisters started another fast-paced song, but she shook her head, mouthing that she was thirsty and heading back toward the beautifully decorated round tables. She picked up a freezing cold butterbeer on her way to a vacant table, where she stopped to catch her breath. She had hardly stopped moving since getting up to dance. She need the break.

Her eyes roamed the nearly empty table area. Almost everyone was dancing. There were a few people like her, who were merely resting from the excitement. Even fewer were the people who hadn't gone up to dance at all, like Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. She couldn't remember seeing either one dance at all now that she thought about it, with the exception of Harry at the opening dance with the other champions.

She looked back to the dance floor. On the edge she could see a few of her friends moving in time with the song. The beckoned to her, but Laura held up a hand to say she still needed a moment before taking a swig of butterbeer. The crowd of dancing students almost seemed like one being, moving and changing with the song's tempo of its own accord. She would catch a glimpse of a familiar face or two by chance only for that face to disappear in the folds of the crowd again.

She turned back to the table in front of her, focusing on deeper breaths as she put the bottle of butterbeer to her cheeks. It was quite warm in the crowd, she hadn't realized she had gotten so hot until she had moved to a less populated area. Now that the cooler air was hitting her she realized how hot it was over there. Maybe she would just call it a night now. It was nearly 11 already.

"Laura!"

She jumped as another body appeared in a seat next to her. Fred Weasley had fallen back into the chair to her right, looking as though he was out of breath too. He would be, with the way he and Angelina had been moving out on the dance floor. Laura wouldn't admit it aloud to many people, but she was a little jealous that he had asked Angelina to the ball and not her. She knew that he had asked her just to prove to his youngest brother how "easy" it was to ask out a girl, but still...

"Hi Fred," Laura greeted easily, straightening a little in her seat.

"Don't tell me you're done already," Fred said with a sly smile on his face.

Laura shook her head. "Just taking a break." As if to prove it, she took a big swig of butterbeer.

"Of course you were," Fred shook his head, eyes moving back to the crowd of students.

"Where's Angelina?" Laura asked politely as the Weird Sister's brought their song to a close.

"She and Katie left," Fred said vaguely. "Something about being tired I think it was."

"Oh." Laura let the conversation lapse then, not really sure how to continue on at that point.

The next song of the night started then. It was uncharacteristically slow for the Weird Sisters. A lot of people, Laura's group included, left the floor. Fast paced songs were more popular to dance to, and plenty of space was made for couples that did want to dance to something like that.

"Hey Laura?" Fred turned back to her as the first few chords drifted over the Hall. "Want to dance?"

Laura's heart skipped a beat at the question. She coughed on the bit of butterbeer she had just taken another sip of. "I-" She struggled to wipe the offending drink from her lower face as Fred patiently waited for an answer. With that smile on his face and the mischief in his eyes, how could she say no? "I'd love to."


	22. Another for Renée

Harry looked up as Ron sighed over his Transfiguration book. Returning to Hogwarts in the Fall hadn't been what either of them had pictured while they were on the run. Then again, none of them had been sure if they would even be alive to return to Hogwarts this time a year ago. Kingsley Shacklebolt had promised that any who participated in the Battle of Hogwarts would be allowed to become Aurors without their N.E.W.T. exams, but these things took time. So the two had returned to Hogwarts to wait for the paperwork to be sorted out. As Hermione had reasoned with them, this would give them a time to learn more defensive spells and look into other things that would help them in their new career.

Hermione, at least, didn't seem to have a problem being back at school. Honestly, both Ron and Harry would have expected her to return to Hogwarts anyway. Her nose had been buried in a book ever since they had returned, and she seemed to be happy just to breathe in the smell of musty old books in the library once more.

"I'm hungry," Ron complained, drawing Hermione's attention as well. "Let's go get dinner!"

"You're always hungry, Ronald," Hermione said, turning the page of her book.

"Am not," Ron said defensively.

Harry shut the book in front of him. "It is about that time Hermione."

She sighed. Now that she had access to the entire school library again, it was hard to get her to leave. "Just let me finish this last chapter."

"No. Come on Hermione," Ron walked over and took Hermione's hands, gently pulling her up out of the chair. "You can read more later. Let's get you some brain food."

Hermione blushed as Ron pulled her in close. She mumbled something that sounded like an agreement.

Harry grinned and began to gather up their books. He had his own reasons for wanting to go down to the Great Hall for dinner.

Harry walked ahead of his two friends, letting them hold hands in peace as they walked down the Grand Staircase. At the bottom of the stairs was what he was eager to see.

"Harry!" Ginny wrapped her arms his shoulders, giving him a very brief kiss before Ron and Hermione hit the bottom of the stairs. Ron gave the two of them an odd look, he still wasn't used to his best friend snogging his little sister.

"How was Transfiguration, Ginny?" Hermione asked.

"Alright," Ginny said with a shrug, "We were talking about Metamorphagi..." her voice trailed off and a hint of sadness appeared in her eyes. She, like everyone else there, was reminded of Tonks. Harry looked a bit closer and now noticed a small amount of red around her eyes, hidden from anyone who wasn't as close as Harry was now. Had she been crying?

"Come on," Harry said suddenly, wanting to get everyone's mind off the recent deaths. "Let's go get dinner." Harry pulled Ginny forward, Ron and Hermione following close behind.

Students were mingling all across the main hall. This year saw very few students actually sitting at their separate house tables. The Battle seemed to have brought everyone a little closer together. Yet there were still some who wanted to keep up some appearances. Harry immediately spotted Malfoy's blonde head at the Slytherin table. There weren't many people sitting around him, but that could have been by his own choice. Only Pansy Parkinson was sitting next to him. She was clearly flirting with him, but he didn't seem at all interested. He caught Harry's eye and they exchanged nods. Despite everything that had happened, they bore each other no ill will. They stood a chance at becoming friends now, although if you had said such a thing to Harry or any of his friends a few years ago they probably would have laughed their heads off.

Neville and Luna were sitting at what was previously the Ravenclaw table deep in conversation. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny joined them. Luna immediately mentioned something about how Hermione looked as though she had been visited by a Wrackspurt and the two launched into an argument about whether or not they existed, while Neville asked Ginny for help with his Charms homework and Ron loaded his plate up with anything within reach.

Harry couldn't help but grin as he looked around at his friends. A lot of things had changed while he was away from Hogwarts, but he couldn't help but feel like nothing had changed at all.


	23. For Rhiannon

Luna watched the silvery form of a hare form just past the end of her wand. She smiled as it bounced around her, filled with energy from the happiest memory Luna could muster. It sped past Harry as he walked by, and he offered her a congratulations on producing a full body patronus. She nodded her acknowledgment to his praise and let him continue on to help out other students. He stopped by Fred, who was producing wisps of a patronus.

Luna started to turn to continue following the hare's path, but she stopped when through the translucent body she spotted Neville. The hare came to a stop next to her head as she watched him struggle to get anything to come out of his wand. She and her patronus exchanged a look, and as the hare faded away she stepped towards the Gryffindor student.

"Having trouble, Neville?" She asked as she approached him, her calm voice easily drifting over the incantations of other D.A. members.

"A little," Neville reluctantly admitted as he lowered his wand. He had a defeated look on his face, as if he had already given up on mastering the charm.

"Maybe you're not thinking of a happy enough memory," she suggested as she stepped around in front of him.

"I ... I was thinking of the first time I got to Hogwarts." Neville got a far off look in his eyes. "Crossing the lake in the boats with Hagrid. Walking into the Great Hall for the first time. It was amazing."

Luna could see that was a great memory for him, but wasn't quite what Harry had been suggesting they think of for the spell. "Haven't you got anything a bit happier?"

Neville hesitated, "I don't really have a lot of happy memories..." Neville briefly glanced off to the side.

Luna followed his gaze and saw he was looking at the photo that Harry had pinned up in the Room of Requirement. The picture of the original Order of the Pheonix members, which included Frank and Alice Longbottom. Luna had known that Neville's parents had fought against Voldemort the first time, and that they had been tortured by his Death Eaters, but she hadn't fully realized what effect that might have had on his childhood. Visiting his parents in a hospital all the time had to have been hard enough oh him, but from what she had been told his parents never recognized him and his grandmother always said that he never measured up to his family. She had never realized how harsh life had been to the boy until now.

"Try once more," Luna said suddenly, moving to stand beside him so he had room to cast the charm in front of him. "Try a different memory."

"What memory should I use?" Neville asked, giving her a confused look.

"How about..." Luna stopped mid sentence and pulled Neville into a kiss. She kept the kiss short but soft, as if she could pack a lifetime of happiness into this one moment. She pulled away and studied his face, her eyes found his and found shock there along with the light of joy and amazement. "I think that memory would work," she said gently. Neville didn't seem to comprehend what she was talking about for a moment. She gave him a knowing smile. "Go on, show me a patronus."

Neville nodded and raised his wand, a little more determined than before. He spoke the incantation "Expecto Patronum", and kept his gaze riveted on the end of his wand. A few silvery wisps floated out from the end, barely anything at all but it was something. He turned around to share an excited look with Luna.

"Do it again," Luna encouraged. As he moved to raise his wand again, Luna slipped her and into the warmth of his. He seemed a little startled by the contact at first, but when he spoke the incantation again the silvery substance seemed to become something closer to a shield shape before fading.


	24. For Jennifer

Getting back to the Common Room only seemed to get harder and harder. Jennifer had gotten separated from the group Harry had sent on their way to avoid Umbridge. Running through the corridors just didn't feel safe tonight, and for good reason. Umbridge had been tipped off about the DA meetings, and with a horde of Slytherin students just waiting for unsuspecting students. That was how she had got separated, her group had scattered when a few Slytherin students had run into them. People had been going every which way and she had gotten so turned around she wasn't quite sure where she ended up before continuing her mad dash for safety.

"Locomotor Mortis!"

Jennifer barely registered the words, had no time to realize she was in trouble, before her legs felt like they were bound together. She was sent toppling to the unforgiving stone floor. She struggled to turn back to see who had cursed her, pushing her brown hair away from her face. It was a Slytherin student, she could tell that the green on his robes and tie, but she had only seen this boy in passing before. She wasn't quite sure who he was. The knowledge that he was a Slytherin was more than enough for her to dislike him.

"I caught one!" he was shouting, coming closer as Jennifer continued to tried to move away. "I got one over here!" Jennifer silently willed him to shut up, fumbling for her wand.

"Stupefy!"

She instinctively covered her head as a jet of red light soared over her to strike the Slytherin square in the chest. He fell onto his back side, temporarily stunned. Jennifer glanced up to find the source of the spell. Her green eyes found two pairs of brown ones. Fred and George Weasley stood at the next bend of the corridor, Fred with his wand raised while George pulled his own out.

"Alright Jennifer?" Fred asked as he and his twin came over to her.

"Fine," Jennifer said as George spoke the incantation for the counter-curse, taking in a deep breath to calm herself down a little.

"Come on," Fred said, offering her a hand as George moved toward the Slytherin. "We need to get moving."

Jennifer nodded, taking his hand. It felt so warm to her, and her hand seemed to fit inside his just right. She let him pull her to her feet, and didn't let go the entire way back to the Common Room.

Faces and clamoring voices awaited them on the other side of the portrait hole. Everyone wanted to know if they were alright, if they knew if certain people had been caught, and where was Harry Potter? The crowd of students forced Jennifer apart from Fred as she reassured some of her friends that she was fine. She wasn't separated from him for long though, as an arm pulled her into a small space beside the Notice Board.

"You sure you're alright?" Fred asked, concern in his voice and eyes.

"Thanks to you and George," Jennifer told him with a smile. "I just hope that Slytherin forgets he saw me."

At that Fred did grin a little. "Oh no worries there, George took care of him." Jennifer wanted to ask what he meant, but Fred pulled her into a tight hug before she could. "You had me worried there when I showed up and you didn't."

"I'm sorry," Jennifer offered, leaning into his embrace.


	25. For Steffan

Merlin meandered through the dancing crowd. Going to the Yule Ball stag had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now that he was here he just felt awkward. There were too many couples here, he didn't really have any friends who had come alone as well. It was odd, the dress robes were stuffy, and a part of him just wanted to go back to his Common Room and go to bed. But something told him to stay here.

A blur of pink pushed past him on the dance floor. It took him a moment to realize that it was Hermione. She stopped in the middle of the dance floor, seemingly wanting to lose herself among the people.

Merlin walked up and behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. She turned around, the anger on her face melting away into soft surprise. "Hi," she said, almost unheard over the band and the other people.

"Hi... Are you okay?" Merlin asked raising a hand to her cheek, where he brushed away a tear.

Hermione quickly tried to rub away any evidence of her crying. "I-I'm fine," she said weakly.

Merlin frowned. "What happened?" He asked, his voice clear over the last notes of the song.

"It's nothing, I swear," Hermione said, turning to move past the unusually still people around them.

Merlin grabbed her hand before she could push her way through the crowd. "Alright, don't tell me. But don't leave me alone out here on the floor."

At that he got a half-hearted laugh out of her. "Alright," she agreed, looking like she couldn't believe he had asked that of her.

He pulled her a little closer to him. As the band started up their next song and Merlin did his best to cheer her up. He didn't really know what he was doing as he spun her around, all he cared was that he got her to smile again. And she did smile. She smiled and she even laughed as they danced. And she kept dancing with him even when the song ended. A second song, and then a third, and then a fourth. During the fifth song she spun very close and ended up leaning against him for the rest of that dance.

"Thank you," she said with some relief in her voice. Any evidence that she was once upset had disappeared.

"Any time," Merlin said. He treasured this moment when she was against him, wishing it would never end.


End file.
